Sweden remain Mixed Relay royalty as Ilar cruises to 'childhood dream' win

Sweden’s first team claimed a comfortable victory in the Mixed 4x5km Relay Classic/Free in the Coop FIS Cross-Country World Cup in Engadin, Switzerland, on Friday.

The last time the event had made a World Cup appearance, one year ago, in Goms, in a more central part of southern Switzerland, Sweden had claimed a one-two as Norway I grabbed the third place. This time, Jens Burman, Emma Ribom, Edvin Anger, Moa Ilar, with golden glitter on their cheeks, made sure to keep the Swedish flag keep flying high in the race that Sweden also won on home snow in Falun in 2023.

Ilar in the last leg had plenty of time to pick up a Swedish flag as she cruised to a victory 19.5 seconds before runners-up Norway I, Switzerland I completing the podium, saying it was "definitely" a childhood dream coming true.

"The team did a super job before me. I was really happy to get the big gap so to grab the flag at the end was amazing," Ilar said.

After the first leg, Burman had brought Sweden to a fifth place, nine seconds behind Classic expert Iivo Niskanen (FIN) in the lead.

"It was tough but fun," Burman said.

In the second Classic leg, Ribom closed the gap and to the front, for most of the 5km getting help from Finland’s sprint standings No.1 Jasmi Joensuu.

"It was hard but I love to ski 5k so I had a good time out there", Ribom said.

Joensuu handed over to Remi Lindholm for the first of two Freestyle races, but Anger, boosted from his first World Cup victory last weekend, made a strong third leg, bringing his team to the lead. When the 22-year-old handed over to Ilar, Sweden had a 16.4-second advantage on Austria, who had taken over the second place.

"I love 5k, it’s fun to race here in Engadin and we ended up getting the win, it’s super fun," Anger said.

Ilar made a push to extend the lead. With 3.5km left to skate, she had a gap of half a minute down to Katharina Brudermann (AUT) in second place. 

Brudermann could however not keep up with Kristin Austgulen Fosnaes (NOR), who took over the second place stormed to a second place for Norway I, where Paal Golberg, Nora Sanness and Iver Tildheim Andersen had skid the first legs.

The most dramatic battle was behind the two top teams, where home favourite Nadine Faehndrich came into the last kilometre of the race in a comfortable position behind Norway II’s Anne Kjersti Kalvaa. Confident in her strength in the end of the race, the Tour de Ski sprint champion saved her energy for the home straight and made a push to put the host nation on the podium.

Finishing half a second before Kalvaa as Finland’s Vilma Ryytty grabbed the fifth place, Faehndrich secured a career-first World Cup podium for her teammate Jonas Baumann. The 34-year-old, who could celebrate the milestone effort in front of a home crowd, had skied the first leg and handed over to Anja Weber, who was followed by Jason Rueesch.

The action in the scenic tracks of Engadin continues on Saturday with the Men’s and Women’s Sprint Free.

Click here for full results from the Mixed 4x5km Relay Classic/Free and here to follow FIS Cross-Country on Youtube.